I've been thinking a lot lately about how I define periods of time as "good or bad" based on my own accomplishments. For instance, last year was absolutely bad, mostly because I lost Hypatia but also because my etsy shop suffered its worst year ever and I had much fewer artistic opportunities than I had in previous years. I was flipping through my 2012 scrapbook and saw how many collaborations I had, commission work I did, how many outstanding milestones I hit on etsy, and it just made me feel like 2013 and (so far) 2014 were massive failures.

But I am more than my etsy shop. I'm more than my artwork. My life shouldn't be defined by whether or not my sales are up or down, or whether or not I have wholesale orders. Last year I went to Niagara Falls, I met one of my best friends for the first time, I went to Disney World twice, I saw Jurassic Park in 3D, I met the cast of The Office!!

As hard as I try, it seems like success as an artist is relatively out of my control. I can try really hard to produce artwork that I'm proud of, and I can try hard to promote it. But whether or not anyone actually buys it or features it or sees it and wants to work with me is mostly out of my control. What IS in my control? Planning and partaking in awesome experiences. They don't all have to be as epic as Niagara Falls, something as simple as planning a board game night or treating my family to the movies is more than enough. The point is, when I look back on my life from now on I want to shift my focus from my accomplishments to my experiences. I have crafted a life that I love so much, the only thing left is to reflect on it with contentment.